Early glassmaking in the United States
17th and 18th century glass works were usually built near water for transportation and in proximity to wooded areas for fuel.
[5] At Jamestown, sand from the James River was used for its silica, and the plentiful woods nearby provided fuel for furnaces.
[11] Annealing was originally conducted in the United States using a kiln that was sealed with the fresh glass inside, heated, and gradually cooled.
[18] Glassmaking methods and recipes were kept secret, and most European countries forbid immigration to the United States by glassworkers.
In contrast, North America appeared to have a massive number of forests, having great potential for glassmaking.
[32] Glassmaking began shortly after the first glassworkers arrived, with the supply ship carrying sample glassware on its return voyage.
The plan was for beads and "drinckinge Glasse" products to be produced by four Italian men who would come to Jamestown with their families.
[40] Production failure was attributed to inadequate security, food supply, quality of sand, and disagreement among supervisors and glass workers.
[46] During the 1620s, the Dutch colony in North America maintained the New Amsterdam trading post and settlement in what is now the lower part of Manhattan in New York City.
[50] Johannes Smedes,[Note 6] another New Amsterdam glassmaker, received a portion of land in 1654 adjacent to what became known locally as "Glass-makers Street".
[51][Note 7] In 1664, the same year Dutch occupation ended, Smedes sold his glass works and moved to Long Island.
[48] Other glassmakers in the New Amsterdam–New York area included Routoff Jansen and Cornelius Dirkson, who first sharpened their skills working for Smedes.
[54] The Free Society of Traders built a glass factory close to Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania during the early 1680s.
[57] Glass making was not a productive endeavor in the Pennsylvania Colony; Tittery had more success producing pottery.
[58] A 1684 letter written by Philip Lehman, secretary to William Penn, the founder of the colony, confirms the demise of the glass factory: "[The] Glasshouse comes to nothing".
[60][Note 8] Over one dozen glass works operated in the British colonies and after the American Revolution, during the 18th century, as several milestones were achieved.
[62] German-immigrants Caspar Wistar, Henry William Stiegel, and John Frederick Amelung were responsible for three of these successes.
From its beginning, American glassmakers used wood as the fuel for their furnaces that melted the raw ingredients for glass.
By 1740, English glassmakers produced good quality window glass and some of the best lead crystal glassware available.
This meant that American crystal cost more than that made in England because prices for red lead were kept high.
England controlled the supply of high quality sand, and brought it to the United States as ballast in their ships.
After the War of 1812, local sources of high quality sand were found in the Berkshires, Monongahela River, and New Jersey.
